Sovereign wealth funds as a new instrument of climate protection policy? A case study of Norway as a pioneer of ethical guidelines for investment policy

In 1990 a sovereign wealth fund was founded in Norway in which the country invests surpluses from oil and gas industry sales. The fund is designed to secure the state’s ability to act in a post-petroleum era. At the end of the 1990’s the voice of Norwegian civil society insisted that the sovereign w...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Energy (Oxford) 2010-09, Vol.35 (9), p.3569-3577
Main Author: Reiche, Danyel
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applied sciences
Case study
Climate protection policy
Control
Diffusion of policy innovations
Economic data
Economics
Energy
Energy economics
Ethical investment
Ethical standards
Exact sciences and technology
Financing
Fossil fuels and derived products
Gas
General aspects
General, economic and professional studies
Guidelines
Investment
Natural gas
Norms
Norway
Oil
Policies
Sovereign wealth funds
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Summary:In 1990 a sovereign wealth fund was founded in Norway in which the country invests surpluses from oil and gas industry sales. The fund is designed to secure the state’s ability to act in a post-petroleum era. At the end of the 1990’s the voice of Norwegian civil society insisted that the sovereign wealth fund should not only ensure intergenerational justice, but should also contribute to the implementation of values and norms of the present country. At the end of 2004 the parliament finally agreed upon ethical regulations for the investment of the sovereign wealth fund. Now the second largest sovereign wealth fund in the world only invests in businesses that adhere to those ethical regulations. In the present paper, I seek to illustrate the emergence and outcomes of this new development in the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund.
ISSN:0360-5442
DOI:10.1016/j.energy.2010.04.030